Recovery Console - what does it mean?

[Guest]

I have a virus that has prevented my windows from working properly. My
computer will boot to windows but it doesnt allow me to open up any of my
files. I pressed F12 at my Dell startup screen and tried to use the recovery
console to repair my windows so that I can fix the problem.
Is this the right thing to do?
Also, when I am in the recovery console what do i enter when it asks me
"which windows installation would you like to log onto?" I am assuming that
it is a number but how do i knwo which number? Also, when it prompts me to
enter an administrator password, what do I type. Was it a password set to my
computer when it was initially installed, or is it my password that I use as
a windows administrator?
Finally, once I get past the password what do I do from there? It seems like
I need to type in a system of commands, but which commands do I enter?
I hope that someone is able to offer some guidance with my problem
Thank you!

 

[Dave Patrick]

:
|I have a virus that has prevented my windows from working properly. My
| computer will boot to windows but it doesnt allow me to open up any of my
| files. I pressed F12 at my Dell startup screen and tried to use the
recovery
| console to repair my windows so that I can fix the problem.
| Is this the right thing to do?
* No, you'll need to get some anti-virus software and boot from the AV
installation media.


| Also, when I am in the recovery console what do i enter when it asks me
| "which windows installation would you like to log onto?" I am assuming
that
| it is a number but how do i knwo which number?
* Correct, probably 1


Also, when it prompts me to
| enter an administrator password, what do I type. Was it a password set to
my
| computer when it was initially installed, or is it my password that I use
as
| a windows administrator?
* Yes, use the local administrator password.


| Finally, once I get past the password what do I do from there? It seems
like
| I need to type in a system of commands, but which commands do I enter?
* The recovery console generally isn't the correct tool for virus related
issues.



--

Regards,

Dave Patrick ....Please no email replies - reply in newsgroup.
Microsoft Certified Professional
Microsoft MVP [Windows]
http://www.microsoft.com/protect

 

[Detlev Dreyer]

I have a virus that has prevented my windows from working properly. My
computer will boot to windows but it doesnt allow me to open up any of
my files.

Congratulations. "Cleaning a Compromised System"
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/community/columns/secmgmt/sm0504.mspx

I pressed F12 at my Dell startup screen and tried to use the
recovery console to repair my windows so that I can fix the problem.

Note: You cannot clean a compromised system via the recovery console.

 

[frodo]

The Recovery Console is probably not going to help you, it's really not
too useful unless you've done your homework and prepared for a catastrophy
ahead of time. With that you could use the RC to fix boot.ini or copy
backups of the system files and registry files from some archived
location.

What you should try is pressing F8 at start up and then choosing "Safe
Mode". Hopefully that will let you log in to your normal account and then
run some anti-virus and anti-spyware tools to fix your infection.